Something. [Invite Only]

"He pulled a dagger. His killing intent is visible. Does that just- No, I don't think so.". 

Nero kept his stance firm. His dagger in front of him, in his right hand, standing horizontally, the end of the blade looking to Nero's left. After a few seconds, the man stopped juggling the knife in his hand and dashed towards Nero, swinging for his head. Nero took a step to the right, parrying the man's dagger to the left. The speed difference between the two were large enough that he could do that with ease. That left the man's back exposed to an attack from Nero. "Do it. Don't. Do it. Don't.". Nero's right hand holding the dagger started shaking, rapid and strong enough that it was visible to the crowd around him. Nero regained his composure, shaking his head swiftly, and then making a swift strike at the back of the man's neck, with his empty hand. It was not a strike strong enough to kill the man (hopefully) but enough to disorient him and send him down to the ground, dropping the dagger to the ground. As soon as he dropped, Nero jumped down to grab his dagger, and held the two daggers against the man's face so he wouldn't try to get up.

He pulled back and signaled the man to get up from the ground and walk in front of him. "Don't try anything dumb.". He guided the man to where the Asami was standing (lying?) a few seconds ago. He couldn't see Asami at first, expecting her to be at the same place; then he noticed her coming towards him with the other guy. He nodded. "Your man has the bag, right?". He looked around once again, "Umm... Whose bag was that? People? One of you shouted, who was it?". He would look at Asami and wait for her to act, since he didn't have the bag; and wait for an answer from the people around. If Asami left the two guys to him so she can return the stolen bag, he would hold one dagger to each of the guy's backs. Otherwise, he'd just wait for Asami to handle the situation. 

"So." he said next, "What's the protocol? Where do we bring these two? Sorry, I'm a bit new...". He would then follow Asami if she led him anywhere. Whether they were on a walk at this point, or still standing there Nero would continue, "I... I'm sorry by the way. I tried to reach in and stop you from falling but... I wasn't fast enough... Sorry.". "You weren't. It's not even that you're slow. Slower people have done much more. You're late, you're always late. You're careless.". Nero was usually hard to read, it was a skill he picked up working for different kind of people all around the world. He was able to hide his emotions, when he wanted to. This time however, his disappointment in himself showed clearly. He was (almost doing the opposite of before and) trying to avoid eye contact with Asami, looking down, around to the villagers; (then once in a while back at Asami again to try to make it less obvious that he was trying to avoid eye contact). And when he got really tense, he would hold the dagger a little bit closer to the man he had caught, pushing it against his skin, not to hurt, but annoy and maybe demoralize him. "Stab, stab, stab, stab. Don't.".

"He did," Asami held out the bag in her kunai free hand. "Now we have it."

Prodding her captive in the back with her kunai, Asami made her way over to Nero. Thankfully, the crowd now gave the pair of shinobi and their captives a wide berth, so the handoff that followed was not made more awkward by the pushing and shoving of humanity around them. Instead, it was only slightly awkward; Asami shoved her captive in Nero's direction who produced a blade to keep said captive in line. Nodding once the young girl zipped back through the crowd towards the shopkeeper who had initially raised the alarm.

"Excuse me," the emotion left her voice as the adrenaline ebbed from her veins, her normalcy was fleeting. "Sir, is this yours?"

The old man, who had been watching the whole thing, nodded.

"It is indeed, young girl," he accepted the bag of what Asami—given the storefront behind the man—could only assume to have been some kind of silk. "Thank you and thank your friend for me too. If they'd gotten away it would have cost me a pretty penny to replace this."

He hefted the bag as if testing its weight, bowed to Asami, and returned to his store.

Sighing to herself, the chuunin made her back to where Nero was waiting. Stooping down, she picked up the book she'd lost in the fall. Now, came the hard part. Of course, transporting the captives would be easy, it was carrying the knowledge of what punishment awaited thieves in Kirigakure that would be hard.

"We're bringing them to the administration building, follow me."

And they were off, Nero led his captive and Asami hers with the aide of a sword and kunai respectively. The two walked in silence for a few steps. Sure, they got a few strange looks from civilians, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Then Nero broke the silence.

"There's no need to apologize it, it happens."

Asami shrugged, hoping to show she didn't mind the boy's lack of speed.

"No harm no foul, right?"

There was another one of her father's phrases again. They kept slipping out of her like water through a sieve. She couldn't help it at this point, though it did hasten the return of her listless melancholy. Indeed, by the time the pair of shinobi and their captives arrived at the village administration building she'd forgotten the thrill of the chase and once more returned to her depressed state.

"After you."

She gestured to the building before them.

---
TWC: 2249

"What do you like?". Nero had an idea. Maybe he could redeem himself. He was following Asami wherever this administration building was. Maybe it was the academy? But if it was, she would have called it the academy, right? Either way, Nero was blindly following the chuunin. "Yeah, no. I definitely haven't seen this building before.". "Like, that sounded too vague... Let me rephrase... What shape do you like? A kunai, a flower, a pose maybe, that sort of thing...". Nero brought the man he was holding 'hostage' (is that the correct word to use here, since they're half under arrest, but half not yet), and brought him to wherever they needed to do so. He left the talking to the higher ranked of the two, as (he assumed) was custom. 

"You looked like you were feeling better after that.". Nero had a gentle smile on his face; like one he had naturally, "Sorry if it's overstepping the line or something. Just saying, if you want to go beat people up or something, let me know.". He took a few seconds, but not long enough to leave space for an answer, "I mean, it's a dog eat dog world, we're ninja - Kiri ninja, it's natural. No shame.".

"Ice cream," she nodded and gave her captive a jab in the back with her kunai to remind him that, though she and Nero were talking, she had not forgotten about him. "Chocolate ice cream to be exact, though I guess any flavor works..."

The pair's arrival at Kirigakure's central administration building cut the conversation short. Taking the lead, Asami pushed her captive ahead of her. The building was, thankfully, not all that crowded and the two shinobi were able to walk up to an open desk. The tall spindly man sitting behind said desk looked down his nose at the motely group assembled before him.

"And, how might I help you?" the man crinkled his nose in mild disgust, the two thieves did smell rather odd.

"We caught these two men attempting to rob a local store," Asami spoke mechanically as if reading from a script. "My name is Asami Miyamoto, chuunin rank, can you please take them in for processing?"

"Fine fine fine," the attendant clearly had no interest in being at work on this particular day. "These men will take them away."

He gestured to two large men who stood a head taller than even Nero. Not even bothering to use a kunai or any other weapon for that matter, the two men took custody of the criminals and led them deeper into the complex. Once there the two thieves would probably be relieved of their burdensome hands—the common punishment for their crimes in Kirigakure.

"I'll need you to sign these papers."

The thin man pushed two papers forward and Asami promptly signed both.

"Thank you. Now, please, leave me be," the attendant shooed Nero and Asami out of the building with a halfhearted wave.

Once more returning to the streets, Asami and Nero found themselves amongst an ever-growing throng of humanity, it was nearly lunchtime. Nero, however, elected to bring up the topic of feelings again. What's with this guy?

"Kirigakure shinobi or not it isn't right to use violence as an outlet," Asami recited what she had learned in the academy many years ago. "It makes us sloppy."

She fell silent, not wanting to meet Nero's gaze.

"I should go," she still avoided eye contact. "It was nice to meet you, Nero."

And with that, the young girl melted into the crowd and made her way home. She had a lot to think about, but she could put it off until later. For now, she had a lunch to make and a book to read. Yes, pushing one's issues from the fore always worked.

Always.

---
TWC: 2693

[Exit, +13 stats and 2693 words towards Cosmic Siblings]

Approved unless interrupted

"Ice cream?" Nero went into deep thought, seemingly breaking away from reality, his eyes looking nowhere, "I don't think that'd work. Would that work? Can Ice be an ice cream flavor? How does ice even taste? I mean, water? What if i freeze milk? But the jutsu I know creates the ice out of chakra. So it doesn't even really freeze water. Or does it? I mean the water element is a part of it, so I guess? Ah... Shame there's no milk element. There isn't right? Is there?". When the right time came, Nero let go of the man he was holding, to the custody of whoever the person was that was working there.

When they were in the streets, and Asami answered Nero's question, the 20-year old Genin was visibly offended. "What? It isn't right to use violence as an outlet? That's the only outlet I know. That and fashion - that I have really stopped caring for after becoming a ninja. Violence is all I have now, Chuunin, don't take that away from me...". Then he heard the words that sent him into an existential crisis, "Sloppy?". He took a few seconds, "I mean I am sloppy. That's not the reason why though. How is that even related? What?.". "I mean..." Nero answered, his voice much fragile than before, and the words coming out of his mouth with much less confidence, "I wasn't suggesting we go beat up an old man nexdoors.", his voice became a little bit more confrontational, but still respectful, "I meant like if you wanted to go on a mission or something, to blow off some steam...". He took a few seconds. "Never mind.". Nero matched Asami's motion of avoiding eye contact, "T'was nice to meet you too.". He started walking, in the opposite direction to wherever Asami headed. "I'd probably come across somewhere I recognize, if I just keep walking down a straight line...". His frown turned upside down, "Nero, you're solving your problems with amazing deduction once again, good on you.".

[EXIT; TWC: 3615. Claiming;
18 stats,
Art of the Parry (C_Rank) (2000/2000)
Wind Release: Chakra Blade (1615/2000)]

Approved